Our Final Meeting at the YMCA

This morning ended what was five months of launch team meetings. I'm sure our 17 families are ready to quit talk'n theory and start living out the practical.

Here are some pics. from this mornings meeting. We had an extended time of prayer together and then talked through the next few weeks

Beth Fields pictured below also led a discussion on spiritual gifts. It's late into December so many of our people were not at the meeting but those who were there participated well. This coming Wednesday is our mother churches Christmas Eve service which many of our people will attend as well as the 10:00AM service on the 28th. After that our launch team will be onsite at our rental facility Eli Pinney Elementary getting used to the building before services start in February.

Personal Finances and Church Budget

It's been two weeks since the Encounter Church launch team has been together. That seemed like an eternity since many of us usually see each other two, three or more times in a normal week. As usual we had a couple give their testimony. Today we heard from Jeff & Sheila Persall.

Then Sheila informed the group about Antioch Adoption Agency out of Washington State. It's an organization that helps families adopt American children for little to no cost. This may be a group we partner with in some way in the future because many of our launch team families have a heart to foster or adopt.

With the time that remained we had an open discussion about Biblical giving and many people shared openly their thoughts and personal experiences as God has grown them in this area.

I was able to share my heart in a number of ways and lead the group through the six key of the book, "The Treasure Principle", by Randy Alcorn.

The meeting ended with Kyle Mielke laying out the vision for our offerings once we begin to recieve them in January 2009. The simple breakdown by percentages is as follows:

40% Personnell (my salary, future staff, interns)

20% Operations (office and ministry supplies)

20% Facilities (rental, future land/building)

20% Give Away (15%-missionaries,5%-church plant)

Ultimately it is all for ministry and all the Lord's. We are HIS stewards.

We Are To MULTIPLY

This morning after speaking to the "Reflections" ABF at Grace Polaris, Kyle and I headed over to the Powell YMCA for our weekly luanch team meeting. This morning we heard the testimony of Chaz & Laurie Freutel and then had an extended time of prayer as couples using the A-C-T-S model. That is Adoration - Confession - Thanksgiving - Supplication. Then we went over our fourth and last core value: MULTIPLY. Multiplication is something we have been commanded to to in the great commission, Matt. 28:18-20 and it is something we at Encounter Church will do in every ministry area and at all levels. An example would be always having a leader and an apprentice leader in a small group. That way the group has someone on purpose ready to lead the next group. We will also be on the lookout for up-in-coming leaders to better plan for a group to multiply.

This second picture is me signing Joey & Tiffany Holibaugh's marriage license. I forgot to sign it two weeks ago after I officiated their wedding.

The Ordinances: Baptism & Communion

Yesterday we were blessed to hear two couples testimonies on where and when Christ intersected their lives. Just before that we had a fun time reconnecting as always over a cup of coffee and some treats. First off was Bill & Angie Kelly and then Jeremy & Erica Hart. I am convinced that by each couple telling their story, the team is bonded together even more. I told everyone to listen carfully and follow up with each other because our lives may be used to minister into the life of someone else in the future.
Our topic of discussion yesterday was Biblical ordinances. Next week we have twenty adults and children being baptized so I thought it would be good for us to talk about it beforehand. Next we spoke about communion. It, if anything sets our fellowship of churches apart from most other denominations. We have a three-fold communion consisting of a light meal, footwashing and the bread & the cup. In all it is about an hour and a half experience where the believer reflects on the past, present and future work of Christ in our lives. I have come to love the way we do communion, though our heart is not to force it on others. As we say, "You can belong before you believe". Part of the meaning of this statement is that folks are welcome to simply observe and then decide if they want to participate. Of course as I spoke to the launch team I told them they're doing it or else:-)
Kristi Mielke also offered the group an opportunity to partner with our mother church in purchasing a meal and delivering it to a needy family in Delaware County.

Visit to Vineyard

As I've mentioned before, our launch team has been visiting numerous Columbus area churches to see how others are "Seeking HIS Kingdom First". This morning we went to the Columbus Vineyard. They are very proactive with planting churches and may be Columbus' largest church. We enjoyed our time there and got some more great ideas on how to do Sunday morning services.

Love The Ones You SERVE

Meeting number six marks the halfway point of our Sunday AM planning and praying together as a launch team. We heard from Kyle & Kristi Mielke about how Christ worked in their lives to bring them into relationship with Him and eachother. Then we took a block of time to talk about what service opportunities we've been involved in in the past and what possible service niches in the Dublin community Encounter Church will do.

Next Sunday the launch team will be visiting the Columbus Vineyard as a field trip and then debrief our experience there. Then on November 2nd our discussion topics will be the core value MULTIPLY and church ordinances: baptism & communion. The reason for discussing baptism is that Sunday, Nov. 9th we'll be having a baptismal service in the Powell YMCA's pool. At this point there are 19 individuals getting baptized: 5 adults and 14 children. It should prove to be a very special

morning. Stay tuned for pictures and commentary.

A Full Sunday

This past Sunday Melissa & I had a very full day. First we had the launch team meeting to lead together. It was a packed house with my parents visiting and our newest team members Larry & Carol Hall joining us for the first time. We had a shorter connecting time b/c there was so much to accomplish in the meeting. Like all other meetings, we started with a team member couple giving their testimony of recieving Christ as Savior. Luke & Beth Fields were this morning. The goal was to have each person assigned to a Sunday morning service position and also talk about how we will do membership.

My sister and her husband Trevor with their five children were in town with my parents for my ordination service which was at 3:00pm.

Pastor Jim Custer powerfully preached a short message from II Timothy 4:1-5 and Pastor Rick Nuzum led Melissa & I through serious vows. Five Grace Church elders laid hands and prayed over us as we knelt: Ed Jackson, Jeff Martin, Brad Fulton, Dale Dunn, and Rick Nuzum. All those in attenance were also invited to surround us as the men prayed. It was clearly a marked moment in my life and for the launch team as we move ahead with Encounter Church.

Once the service was over we had the opportunity to speak in the lobby to most of those who attended. I was truly honored by those who came out to support us.

Once we arrived back home we had only 20 mins. before heading out to the Taylor small group by 6:00pm. That was an enjoyable time as we spoke about what we had learned from our study of Matthew 4-6.

We Are To SERVE

It was good to be back at the YMCA in Powell again. Fran, the lady who unlocks the building for us has been such a gracious host. Some of the team were out doing various other activities so our numbers were a little less than normal. As always, we started out with a time to connect and have a cup of coffee. The problem this week was the machine hadn't been turned on. So Rob, being "johnny on the spot" stepped in and helped. Notice the water streaming out of the machine with no pot under it:-)

The meeting started with Rob & Carolyn Dubois giving their testimony of receiving Christ as Savior. It was moving to hear all that God has done in their lives.

We spoke about the core value SERVE and why it is so important for the follower of Christ:

-to follow Christ’s example / to bring praise/glory to the Father / it is what we were created for / because our world values it and it helps us gain “favor”.

I also shared a few quotes about serving that I heard in a seminar while attending the church planters conference Exponential '08:

“Good deeds, create good will, that allow you to share the Good News”.

“Evangelism is the ultimate goal, not the ulterior goal”. (we will serve even if we aren't able to share Christ)

The last thing we spoke about was who we are to serve and in what order of priority: Our own family - Other followers of Christ - Our employers - Our neighbors

Launch Team Field Trip to Vista

Over the next five months the Encounter Church Launch Team will be visiting a number of churches in the Columbus area. Some are newer church plants themselves and others are larger and more established. This morning we went to VISTA, a plant in Dublin, OH from Heritage Christian Church in Westerville, OH. I've come to know and appreciate the lead pastor Mike Smith (pictured) over the last eight months. He and I have some similar past ministry experiences and both our wives are very ministry savvy. It was nice for us as a group to experience a worship service as a group. For the last month we've had our meetings but have not been singing or taking an offering. I told the group to really have their eyes open for things they liked or didn't like about the service, the welcome area, children's area, etc. After the service we all headed over to Scioto Park to eat a picnic lunch and debrief the morning. Alot of good discussion came out of our time together about how we would like to see our services done.

VISTA is doing a great job proclaiming the truth about Christ to the people in Dublin. Next Sunday morning's launch team meeting topic is SERVE. This is when we'll begin forming the ministry teams for Encounter Church. Exciting stuff!!!

We Are To GROW

Sunday morning meeting number three was a fun learning time as a group. First we had a little connection with each other over some coffee and rice-crispy treats

and then we heard how Dave and Inga Bodine began their relationship with each other and with Jesus Christ. After they told us their stories I read Ephesians 2:1-6 where the Apostle Paul spoke about what we are before having a relationship with Jesus Christ and then what happens when we do receive Him as Lord of our lives. Check it out for yourself, it's awesome.

The core value we studied this morning was GROW. We spoke of the things that contribute to our growth. i.e. trials, conferences, etc. We learned that God is the one who causes growth in our lives and listed off verses that encouraged us to grow. We also read from Galatians 5:20,21 which is a list of sinful acts. Talking about the things we don't do anymore also helped to show growth in our lives.

Here are some other fun pictures from the morning.

We Are To CELEBRATE.

Last Sunday morning the team had its second Sunday morning meeting. There was a little time at the beginning to reconnect with one another and get a cup of coffee.

The first item on the agenda was to hear from a friend of mine, Tyler Flynn, who works with Mission Columbus tutoring in the cities most impoverished neighborhood. I believe the group was touched by the information and some may sign-up to tutor.

Last week Melissa & I shared about how, when and where we came to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Each week one of the other couples will give their testimony as well. I arranged it all alphabetically so that means “A” is for Arena. It was neat to hear how both Mike & Karen came to Christ in their college years, have grown in Christ and now look to be stretched through their experience in helping launch Encounter Church.

The mornings topic of discussion was our core value of CELEBRATE. We spoke about why we celebrate the Lord: 1) b/c He is worthy 2) to fulfill our purpose 3) to remember what He has done 4) and b/c His Word tells us to. It was also said that we are to be seven day worshippers and that there is something special that occurs when we gather as a large group. We also talked about the many “postures” of worship that are found within God’s Word: lifting hands, shouting, bowing down, kneeling, silence, singing, etc. The group interaction was super as people shared the things that draw them into deeper worship and the things that can inhibit worship.
I had also asked Dalan Zartman (pictured) and Rob Dubois to share their thoughts about true worship. Each has been part of worship bands in the past and are the two within our group beginning the leadership in this area. The group benefited from their thoughts.

Next Sunday we talk about the core value GROW.